Cleveland, Ohio - The Mid-American Conference Council of Presidents today announced the adoption of a comprehensive Membership Standards Plan, detailing the programmatic and competitive goals and expectations consistent with membership in the MAC.
In football, those standards include the successful addition of a third bowl game, the International Bowl, to be played in Toronto, Canada against a Big East opponent; extension of the Ford Field agreement for the MAC Championship through 2008; and a scheduling approach to feature at least one Division I-A home non-conference game annually for each MAC institution.
The expansion of the MAC men's and women's basketball tournament to include all 12 teams to Quicken Loans Arena through the 2011 tournament highlights the basketball initiatives. Further standards in the men's basketball include going from 18 to 16 league games and a schedule requirement of 50% of non-conference games at a home/neutral site, with no non-Division I opponents.
http://mac-sports.cstv.com/genrel/061406aaa.html
I've heard Laing Kennedy discuss a Cartwright Award in the MAC. Always thought he was kidding because it was an award we would have won for the last six (I think- correct me if it's not right, axeme) years.
The Cartwright Award, as he's described it, would go to the institution with the highest overall quality of athletics programs. In simplest terms, combining the scores of the Reese and Jacoby Awards. Nice to see this happen.
Now, who will win the first official
Kent State Award in the MAC?
FlashFan Wrote:Now, who will win the first official
Kent State Award in the MAC?
better question. who would care?
Bold schedule requirements for the MAC. Atleast one D-A home game. That's gonna require return games. MAC teams need to act like a division I-A conference.
Basketball needed the requirements more. Football is more about money than winning.
Basketball requirements are interesting. They imply more tourney appearances for the MAC. Looks like O'Shea's suggestion of playing everyone else twice is dead.
Quote:better question. who would care?
About the same number of people who care about a bowl game in Toronto against the Big East team who didn't get invited anywhere else.
O'Shea's idea was based on fairness of the unbalanced schedule plus, MAC conference games draw more fans than OOC games in basketball.
OUBOBCATJOHN Wrote:Bold schedule requirements for the MAC. Atleast one D-A home game. That's gonna require return games. MAC teams need to act like a division I-A conference.
Basketball needed the requirements more. Football is more about money than winning.
Those football games could be against any of the I-A conferences, so its going to require being able to schedule responsibly (the OU fiasco with UL-Lafayette comes to mind, along with the scheduling of games by Buffalo). I'm not singling out OU, but the MAC has to make sure that it doesn't burn bridges with other schools and conferences when it comes to OOC scheduling. The agreement with the Big Ten helps, even if some of those games aren't on campus.
For this year, OU is the only MAC team not in compliance with that rule. To be fair to them, three or four MAC teams have Temple as their only I-A non-conference home game and Temple is an affiliate member.
mattsarz Wrote:For this year, OU is the only MAC team not in compliance with that rule. To be fair to them, three or four MAC teams have Temple as their only I-A non-conference home game and Temple is an affiliate member.
Not true. Bowling Green only has 4 home games at the Doyt...no non-conference action at home, even against a 1-AA team.
BobcatsFan Wrote:mattsarz Wrote:For this year, OU is the only MAC team not in compliance with that rule. To be fair to them, three or four MAC teams have Temple as their only I-A non-conference home game and Temple is an affiliate member.
Not true. Bowling Green only has 4 home games at the Doyt...no non-conference action at home, even against a 1-AA team.
The game against Wisconson at Cleveland is being considered a "Home Game", so technically they are.
Ohio's schedule would have had a road game against LA-Lafayette this year, so Ohio schedule change didn't change the fact of non-having a d-A home game. In fact Ohio upgraded from a non-bcs road game to a bcs road game with better payout. Much better SOS which will help the MAC. Ohio had a terrible money deal with Va Tech, which forced the buyout. Ohio helped the MAC by filled Buffalo's game with Rutgers. Not blaming UB either. Show us the money BCS. This isn't burning bridges.....its business. The market price for MAC teams was much higher this year than years past. Ohio, UB like Ball State last year got paid this year. Ohio just had to eat Knorr final year and pay for Solich. Thats was worth giving up a home game. Solich has brought far more to the program than Knorr. Going Forward, Ohio will be the flagship program in football that the MAC expects. Ohio made the MAC proud when they beat Pitt, now Ohio has replaced LA-Lafayette with Rutgers.........could this be another MAC attack by the Bobcats on the BCS. An Ohio win over Rutgers would be huge for the MAC and Ohio. Missouri, Illinois, and Rutgers aren't Ohio State, Michigan, or Auburn. Ohio has a legit shot at these games. Yes, we dropped the VA Tech home game, but Nobody in the MAC can sniff VA Tech's jock. Another 45-0 loss or a game you can win? Ohio is has a chance to beat a BCS team for the third year in a row. How many MAC teams can say that? Ohio does have some nice home games coming to Athens, Northwestern, Wyoming, and LA-Lafayette. Ohio can win those games, but not VA Tech.
mattsarz Wrote:Those football games could be against any of the I-A conferences, so its going to require being able to schedule responsibly (the OU fiasco with UL-Lafayette comes to mind, along with the scheduling of games by Buffalo). I'm not singling out OU, but the MAC has to make sure that it doesn't burn bridges with other schools and conferences when it comes to OOC scheduling. The agreement with the Big Ten helps, even if some of those games aren't on campus.
That scheduling fiasco you mention was largely driven by the conference, which wanted mollify Rutgers after Buffalo unceremoniously dumped them. The MAC was supposed to help UL-Lafayette get a replacement game but failed to do that. Ultimately UL did find a replacement (possibly with the help of the OU AD...not clear), and OU and UL-Lafayette were able to reschedule the home-and-home. Ohio visits UL-Lafayette next year (2007) and they return a visit to Athens in some later year (2010 sticks in my mind).
rocketfan101 Wrote:The game against Wisconson at Cleveland is being considered a "Home Game", so technically they are.
The Membership Standards Plan should require at least one Division I-A game to be played at a team's actual HOME field. If Bowling Green wants to play Wisconsin in Cleveland, that's fine, but they should play somebody else at home. A mere four home games is very small time.
BobcatsFan Wrote:rocketfan101 Wrote:The game against Wisconson at Cleveland is being considered a "Home Game", so technically they are.
The Membership Standards Plan should require at least one Division I-A game to be played at a team's actual HOME field. If Bowling Green wants to play Wisconsin in Cleveland, that's fine, but they should play somebody else at home. A mere four home games is very small time.
According to the release that Gary Richter sent out to the media, the document just says home football game. It does not say home field. BG vs Wisconsin at CBS is being considered a home football game for BG so it counts.
BobcatsFan Wrote:rocketfan101 Wrote:The game against Wisconson at Cleveland is being considered a "Home Game", so technically they are.
The Membership Standards Plan should require at least one Division I-A game to be played at a team's actual HOME field. If Bowling Green wants to play Wisconsin in Cleveland, that's fine, but they should play somebody else at home. A mere four home games is very small time.
Yeah, like crossing your flag w/ Nebraska's is the sign of a big-time program.
BG has a program that can generate interest at an NFL stadium. Your jealousy of the program does nothing to benefit Ohio U. or the MAC.
DrTorch Wrote:BobcatsFan Wrote:rocketfan101 Wrote:The game against Wisconson at Cleveland is being considered a "Home Game", so technically they are.
The Membership Standards Plan should require at least one Division I-A game to be played at a team's actual HOME field. If Bowling Green wants to play Wisconsin in Cleveland, that's fine, but they should play somebody else at home. A mere four home games is very small time.
Yeah, like crossing your flag w/ Nebraska's is the sign of a big-time program.
BG has a program that can generate interest at an NFL stadium. Your jealousy of the program does nothing to benefit Ohio U. or the MAC.
OU has a basketball program that can generate interest in an NBA arena well beyond Bowling Green each March.
OU doesn't have much envy for a school playing football in a tiny dilapidated 23,000 stadium 3/4 of a mile from the next academic building........
OU has an academic building 50 yards from the stadium.......the entire campus is within a 1/2 mile from Peden.
We do not envy your setup at all.
DrTorch Wrote:Yeah, like crossing your flag w/ Nebraska's is the sign of a big-time program.
BG has a program that can generate interest at an NFL stadium. Your jealousy of the program does nothing to benefit Ohio U. or the MAC.
What did I say that sounds jealous? I really don't like the idea of playing a BCS team at an NFL stadium anyway (especially if that stadium is no where close to your campus)...it takes the game away from your fan base. I personally don't see a game between Wisconsin and BG in Cleveland generating much interest with the locals. If there are more than 15,000 at the game (actual attendance, not inflated with thousands of give away tickets) I will be shocked...heck Bowling Green can barely get 15,000 at Doyt Perry.
By the way, what does the whole Nebraska flag thing have to do with being small time? Ohio hired a big time coach from a legendary program and many of their fans still support him. Your coach rode on Urban Meyer's coattails for a couple years and got the promotion when he left...Solich probably makes almost double what Gregg Brandon makes and has ten times better "name recognition"! I bet Gregg Brandon has a salary closer to what our offensive and defensive coordinators make! lmfao
BobcatsFan Wrote:DrTorch Wrote:Yeah, like crossing your flag w/ Nebraska's is the sign of a big-time program.
BG has a program that can generate interest at an NFL stadium. Your jealousy of the program does nothing to benefit Ohio U. or the MAC.
By the way, what does the whole Nebraska flag thing have to do with being small time? Ohio hired a big time coach from a legendary program and many of their fans still support him. Your coach rode on Urban Meyer's coattails for a couple years and got the promotion when he left...Solich probably makes almost double what Brandon makes and has ten times better "name recognition"! I bet Brandon has a salary closer to what our offensive and defensive coordinators make! lmfao
Brandon who?
We are projected to kick BG's ass in Peden stadium this season....afterward BG will be an afterthought.
I'm sure it won't be long before Ohio scores a big neutral site game while bg will be back to drawing 7,500 a game again.....
BobcatsFan Wrote:rocketfan101 Wrote:The game against Wisconson at Cleveland is being considered a "Home Game", so technically they are.
The Membership Standards Plan should require at least one Division I-A game to be played at a team's actual HOME field.
Why?
Schadenfreude Wrote:Why?
You are playing just four games at Doyt Perry Stadium this year...as far as I'm concerned that's just wrong. Give the home fans five games AT LEAST, even if it means being against a 1-AA. Also, this is rough on the players to have only four games in the "friendly confines". When almost every game requires a long bus/plane trip, that is pretty rough.